Representative Bennie Thompson mentioned Tuesday that the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot will likely be making selections on legal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) because of its probe.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Thompson, the panel’s chair, mentioned that there’s “a general agreement we will do some referrals, but we’ve got to get there.”
“We’re not there yet,” he added.
Thompson didn’t say precisely for whom the panel could also be weighing legal referrals, in addition to what number of referrals it may make, however Representative Liz Cheney, the panel’s vice chair, mentioned in July that “multiple” referrals have been potential.
Additionally, fellow committee member Representative Jamie Raskin advised CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday that they have been “making great progress” of their work on legal referrals, and that the panel was focusing “on the people who were at the center of the events and who masterminded the attack on Congress and the vice president on that day.”
Some consultants consider the committee has been constructing a case in opposition to Donald Trump for his alleged function within the riot. Thompson advised reporters that legal referrals can be “part of the discussion” throughout a committee assembly on Tuesday and that members are anticipated to make a closing determination by the top of the week, in line with Axios.
But a legal referral by a House committee doesn’t equate to precise legal fees, a undeniable fact that former White House press secretary Jen Psaki highlighted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
Drew Angerer/Getty; Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty
“Just for expectation setting—as compelling as the Jan 6 Committee work has been—criminal referrals from the Committee are not binding,” Psaki wrote. “The course of action DOJ will take is not based on whether or not there are referrals.”
In reality, if the committee does make legal referrals, it will largely act as a symbolic transfer. The Justice Department, which has been conducting its personal investigation into the riot, will in the end determine whether or not to deliver legal fees in opposition to any of the individuals allegedly concerned within the January 6 assault on the Capitol.
The DOJ might even determine to cost individuals who the House committee didn’t make legal referrals for, Forbes reported.
The committee, established in late June 2021, should wrap up its investigation by the top of the 12 months since will probably be dissolved when the present congressional time period ends on December 31. This implies that any potential legal referrals will likely be introduced previous to that deadline.
The House committee can also be anticipated to launch a closing report on its findings.
Newsweek reached out to the committee for remark.